Relentlessly sharpening his teeth in the early 90’s in the underbelly of hidden, southern Belgian clubs, the masterful talents of Roddy Reynaert has remained as one of the most consistent artists in Progressive House today, as his virtuostic abilities continue to hammer out tune after tune while continuously pushing the envelope in advanced sound designs and bold, musical concepts. We first caught wind of him back when he first unveiled his remix to Answer42‘s Tumbleweed and since then, he has crafted a stellar debut album entitled Higher Cognitive Process that completely floored the entire Progressive community with singles such as Yssim and Ahnk being supported by Above & Beyond, Gareth Emery, Armin van Buuren and Jaytech. His recent release of Sasquatch unveiled a new project that his label, Ifonkia Recordings, is currently undertaking entitled the ‘Underground Series‘, which promise to only showcase the best in underground grooves and vibes, (post Higher Cognitive Process). For the second installment of the soon to be championed series, Reynaert teams up with legendary producer Phi Phi on a new single entitled Platinum; a spellbinding new release that combines active genres into one, complete and sophisticated package of musical might. Phi Phi has been heavily active within the Progressive side of J00F Recordings and has teamed up with the iconic talents of Airwave on a number of singles including Vanilla, The Horn and A Breeze On The Nile.
One phrase can be used to signify the magnitude of this colossal Tech track and the phrase is sound design. Featuring some of the freshest and most up to date sounds throughout the entire track, it explodes with flavorful tones and hues throughout its long list of decadent timbres as the combined forces of J00F and Ifonika reveal some of the very best in Tech and Progressive House. Things were much different back when these two artists met back in ’95, but now, these two are more focused on creating charged, electrifying musical notions to push the envelope on past productions and create something both new and revolutionary throughout the world of dance music. While the design and tones are more inclined towards Roddy‘s productions, the overall tone and storyboard of Platinum errs more on the side of Phi Phi, and the change to impressive Breaks within the breakdown is definitely a risk that he is completely comfortable in, (while graciously inviting Roddy into that unknown territory with confidence and stride). The complete change of pace from driving, Tech-infused musical flow to a paired down, almost hauntingly eerie Breaks suction is filled with class and elegance and the grand mixdown of minor chords infused with the plethora of various bass tones provides variety and atmosphere throughout each of its detailed, multifaceted phrases.
Phi Phi & Roddy Reynaert‘s newest collaboration, Platinum, is out now on Ifonika Recordings via Beatport, so make sure you purchase a copy and support real talent today! Also make sure to check out their other collaborative single, Neurotrope!
Keep the music alive. -Q
Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/underground-series-02/1386870
